(FARGO) – A measure aimed at allowing a three percent city lodging tax, for the purpose of constructing a conference space in the City of Fargo, will be voted on by Fargo residents in November. The tax would be strictly for hotels and motels.
The commission voted unanimously to place the issue on the November ballot.
Charley Johnson, President and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the space is ‘much needed.’
“This measure specifically does not call for a particular project,” he told commissioners. If passed, the Fargo City Commission would establish a committee to put forward a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, seeking a public-private partnership for the project.
Additionally, the city, under the measure and if passed, would not begin collecting the tax ‘until, and unless, a project was identified and approved by the city commission.’
Johnson said, if passed, the process would allow the city to attract and review a variety of proposals for conference space.
“We see this additional hotel-motel tax as a painless way for the citizens of Fargo to build such a facility,” he said. The tax would be paid ‘almost entirely’ by those not living in the community.
Johnson said the hospitality industry in Fargo supports and understands the plan.
Claire Hughes, the general manager at Fargo’s Clubhouse Hotel and Suites, said she supports the resolution.
“It is virtually the most painless way to make this convention center happen,” she said.
Hughes said the convention center would increase the city’s branding.
Mike Prekel, general manager at the Fargo Holiday Inn and a former board member of Visit Fargo-Moorhead, said previous experiences he has had with the addition of a convention center were ‘good for the community.’
“The opportunity is there,” he said.
Dan Herder, owner of Great Plains Hospitality, said a convention center, regardless of where it is, would benefit restaurants across the board.
